Resumen

Axial forces affect the shear strength of concrete members. The estimation of such effects on the shear strength depends on how the axial force influences the various shear transfer mechanisms, since a very different behavior has been experimentally evidenced in front of compressive and tensile forces, due to their influence on cracking. A mechanical model for the shear strength of reinforced concrete members previously developed by the authors was recently extended for prestressed concrete and, in this paper, the extension for tensile forces is presented. The comparison of the predictions with the results of experimental tests included in large databases shows very good agreement